After the brief snippet I teased you with in a recent Virtual Safari, we thought this would be a great opportunity to share with you some recent developments at the wild dog den.
Firstly, we experienced a mix of emotions. We were shocked and heartbroken to find that just ten days after seeing the mother bring out a day-old pup, the next bit of footage showed her carrying the limp, lifeless body of another pup. We couldn’t be sure if this was the same pup, as the size was comparable, despite the ten days that had passed.
We then scoured the camera trap footage and we witnessed some fascinating behaviour as the mother carried the pup around and back into the den multiple times over about three hours. Eventually, she carried it out of the den, and that was the last we saw of it.
Our spirits lifted a few days later when we caught our first glimpse of the surviving pups still deep in the burrow. This is hugely exciting news as the pups are now nearing the entrance to the den.
And with the pups now nearly ready to come out of the den, we were hopeful that at some point we would see them out of the den and in the flesh soon. Little did we know that it would happen while we were down there recording the on-camera piece for this virtual safari.
Enjoy this Virtual Safari…
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Hi Sean, this s one of the few time I saw a dead pup of wild dogs, they seem to be guarded incredibly well! I thought t happens more frequently when they are a bit older. But, in the end there are many pups lively playing their antics! Videos like this warms the heart, not the too often useless violence shown too often on the Internet. Every time we see mothers with their offspring this means new lives and a new time full of life. There should be many more images like this shown to people, to educate them about nature and their habits. When animals hunt they do that because they are hungry, not to be filmed and put on Youtube or Tiktok. If they succeed, that’s good for them and that’s all. Thank you for showing the best side of life, with leopards, wild dogs, lions, elephants, impala, zebra, giraffe, cheetah and so on… I wait for news on the pangolin crew and otter and serval, the critter of the night! I remember you saved the honey badger, that was a video we will never forget. Thank you.
Thanks Sean for the update. I hope the surviving pups make it through the next few years. It will be interesting to follow their progress.
There are exciting times on the horizon given the sighting snippets you’ve collected from the camera traps. It was fascinating to see and hear your account of the mother carrying her tiny, lifeless pup in and out of the den as if she wasn’t sure what to do. Is your footage of any value to researchers who are studying wild dogs? I would think any information about the dogs’ behavior would be valuable. Had you mentioned previously that she is a first time mother, because if so, perhaps that’s a reason for some of her behavior. Anyway, great report and I’m looking forward to seeing another episode with squealing , bouncing tiny puppies.
Sorry for the little guy that didn’t make it, but what incredible footage of the remaining 3 pups!! Bravo Sean and team! Very excited to follow the ongoing progress of this wild dog pack!!
Thnaks for this exciting video of the wild dogs, Sean. Maybe something was wrong with that lilt pup and that’s why the mother brought it out of the den on that first day? And then decided against it. Sadly there was something wrong with one pup. However, great to see three more. Is it the first time that this pack has young ones? Three babies, or rather 4, the dead one included, is a very small number, isn’t it?
I am looking forward to hearing more and hopefully positive news about this little family.
Hi Sean, this is so exciting to see these three pups wriggling around and we can hear them squealing. So very precious and absolutely adorable. I wonder why that one died. Maybe mom hurt it that first day by bringing it out then back in the den. Nevertheless there are three pups and they seem to be doing well. Best news is that they are on Londolozi ground.
Is it possible the pup she brought out on day one was still born or did you see it moving? Maybe as first time mom she was confused as to what to do with it and was trying to revive it somehow and after the 10 days she was done mourning?